


Star Wars: Child of Mandalore

by BananaDude64



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Boba Fett - Freeform, Bounty Hunters, Coruscant (Star Wars), Extended Universe, F/F, F/M, Forbidden Love, Gen, Jango Fett - Freeform, Jedi, Loth-Cat, Lothal, Lothcat, Love, M/M, Mandalore, Mandalorian, Multi, Old Republic Era, Original Characters - Freeform, Other, Outer Rim, Sith Empire, Star Wars - Freeform, True Love, established universe, mercenary
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-01-03 09:29:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21177179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BananaDude64/pseuds/BananaDude64
Summary: A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away. It was a period of war between the SITH and the JEDI, with crime at an all time high. The SITH were fighting for control of the OLD REPUBLIC, while republic forces allied with the Jedi to maintain order. MERCENARIES fighting both sides of the war at any given moment were in demand at an all time high. KAZ KESTIS was one of these so called “BOUNTY HUNTERS” and was just returning home from LOTHAL, a system in the OUTER RIM.





	1. The Job

_ A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away. It was a period of war between the SITH and the JEDI, with crime at an all time high. The SITH were fighting for control of the OLD REPUBLIC, while republic forces allied with the Jedi to maintain order. MERCENARIES fighting both sides of the war at any given moment were in demand at an all time high. KAZ KESTIS was one of these so called “BOUNTY HUNTERS” and was just returning home from LOTHAL, a system in the OUTER RIM. _

  
  


“It’s been too long since we’ve done that, we need a breather.”

“Yeah I’ve had my fill, we can stop for now. But we’re picking this up later,” Kaz said with a sly smile.

The view from the cockpit was amazing, nothing but glass and metal high rises as far as the eye could see. The soft glow of the sun going down, and the moon of Concordia slowly rising in its place were something to behold. A cool breeze blew gently over Kaz and his ship

“I think she needs a bath.” Kaz said, referring to his ship.

The cooling systems clicked on one by one, as the whirs and purrs of the engines wound down. The reflection of the cityscape was visible on the bottom of her curves. She looked good, but could still use some work. Dust and debris covered her from top to bottom from her recent excursion.

“Right away, sir,” said ML-26K.

The droid began a landing course for the nearest station. He towered over the dashboard as he started messing with the controls, nimble with his limbs as he steered the ship in a northern direction. ML-26k was a security droid, stolen and modified for personal use and taught additional navigation and piloting protocol by Kaz himself. He was one of a kind, much like his owner.

The dome over them slowly came down, allowing for a clearer view of the city.

“Welcome home, Kaz. It’s been 1265 rotations since you have been to Mandalore.”

“Hmm. Three and a half years and nothing has changed.”

The ship neared the station as people bustled about their business in a hurry. Kaz hopped out of the ship as the landing gear eased on out,the impact softened by the barely working jump jets on his armor stuttering on and off.

“Sir?” ML called from the cockpit, tone playfully concerned, “I think while we’re in the city, you should get your armor checked out.” ML was fluent in thousands of forms of communication, including sass.

“What? You don’t think we can pull off these contracts with a faulty jetpack and some broken armor?” he asked, returning ML’s tone as he turned around, showing off the missing plate that was supposed to cover his right leg.

“You barely pulled it off with what was once  _ working _ gear, Kaz,” the droid retorted dryly.

“Lighten up, buckethead!” Kaz replied while chuckling.

Hearing them arrive, a station attendant walked up with a mechanic droid right behind him. The ship was now fully landed and engines were powered off. Kaz was already sauntering over to the attendant as ML-26k began his descent down the exit ramp of the ship.

“Nice ship, boss. You looking to get it refueled and cleaned up?” he asked Kaz, giving the beautiful bounty hunter a fleeting once-over.

“Yeah, that’s the plan. I’ll handle the cleaning though,” Kaz said as he closed the distance between them, his tone not leaving the boy with much of a choice.

Ships were coming in and flying out of the busy station, neon signs and holo screens advertising clubs, food and drink, and nearby planetary system travel destinations. He felt more at home than he had in a long time, surrounded by the loud sounds of speeders whizzing by, and the clattering of mechanical tools in the nearby hanger.ML-26k had caught up to him at this point and began assembling tools on a powered flatbed cart, gearing up to fix any minor damage that the ship had sustained during its most recent flight.

The station boy had begun refueling the ship as Kaz grabbed a rag off the cart, then headed for a ladder, moving it against the cockpit of his ship.

"You did real good baby, that was some great flying, he whispered into the glass as he wiped away all the dings and scuffs that had accrued during travel. Originally manufactured in Corellia, the ship was designed for handling and transporting small amounts of freight and cargo, while still being a faster than average method of transport. It was long and sleek with crescent shaped wings. Kaz had modified the main engines to be a bit more substantial - he’d also acquired a hyperdrive from a less than willing volunteer on one of his jobs in the Outer Rim. Kaz was only an amatuer mechanic, but got the job done. However, he was a gifted artist, and his ship’s livery reflected that. It was adorned with a Strill, a very dangerous canine-like mammal native to Mandalore, surrounded by blue flowers. His ship,  _ The Phantom Rider _ , was certainly a standout in The Republic.

Kaz was busy at work, now attending to some blaster damage on the wings, when he noticed small percussive sounds coming from underneath the ship. He looked down and saw something that surprised him.

“A loth-cat?” he said, his interest peaking. The loth-cat looked up at him and the noise struck Kaz’s ears again. 

“ML, check out this loth-cat! I think its purring!”

ML-26K, who had been working on the hyperdrive, came down to where the loth-cat was sitting. At the sight of the droid, it immediately scampered over to him and leapt on to ML’s broad shoulders.

“Sir, I think it likes me.”

Kaz hopped down to where they were and gently started to reach out for a pet. The loth-cat gingerly reached its head out and nuzzled Kaz’s gloved hands. It climbed onto his forearm and purred again.

“Must have snuck aboard The Rider when we stopped in Lothal, sir,” ML-26k noted.

“I guess we got room for one more passenger… I’m gonna name you Moogs,” he decided, petting the loth-cat lovingly.

Moogs then moved onto Kaz’s shoulders and hung out there, like a space pirate’s companion.

Kaz went over to the mechanic’s hangar, having noticed a small parts shop inside.

“Hey, do you by chance have an Incom Maxx targeting system with a full sensor array? My setup was recently… rendered unusable.

A man in a hooded robe nodded and went to the back of the shop behind closed doors. Murmured conversation could be heard from behind the doorway, and several moments later a Nautolan, clad in ragtag armor and a beat up helmet that revealed his head tendrils, walked out.

“You Kaz?”

“Who’s asking?”

“Me.”

“Fair enough, yeah I am. Who are you?”

“Come on back here,” the Nautolan replied nonchalantly, ignoring Kaz’s question.

Kaz followed him into the back room, one hand ready to draw on the DL-44 always at his side. He wasn’t nervous, just prepared. He’d seen his fair share of shit.

Behind the closed doors was a dimly lit wide room, a few beings playing what looked like an underground game of Sabacc, and at the end of the room was a table with two bounty hunters. Kaz walked up to them and was about to introduce himself when they interrupted him.

“An Incom Maxx targeting system with a full sensor array? That’s quite the request.”

“What can I say, it’s the best setup for a ship in its class.”

The first bounty hunter nodded in approval.

“Alright kid, you got five minutes. Don’t keep me waiting,” she said impatiently.

“That job on Lothal, it’s done,” Kaz said.

Moogs hopped down onto the table they were next to, interrupting a hologram’s feed of the nearby speeder race that happened to be playing.

“Any trouble? Anybody see you?” the second bounty hunter asked.

“No trouble, no witnesses. ice and easy like you two said, alright?” Kaz replied calmly.

“Good. Half your credits are being transferred as we speak,” said the first hunter, while the second fiddled on a screen confirming the transfer.

“Half? What gives, the job was done perfectly!” Kaz exclaimed.

The second bounty hunter gestured at Moogs.

“What about this witness?” he smirked.

“You guys aren’t for real,” Kaz said, slightly losing the cool in his voice he always had.

“Relax. I’ve got another job for you. A big one, kid.” 

(Kaz made a face at being called a kid, twice now.) 

“We’ll pay you in full, plus the half you just missed out on. There’s a contract out for a certain crime lord’s daughter. He hasn’t seen or heard from her in a while. He’s real worried. Thinks she might be taken hostage by a rival clan. Personally I think she wanted out, but hey, what do I know? Find her and bring her back, kill her and collect a debt from their rivals, I don’t care. I’d do it myself but the job’s in Coruscant and I despise that system.”

“Come on, gimme my half and maybe I’ll cut you into some of the reward, if not I’ll just cut into you some,” Kaz threatened, regaining some of the cool while making a show of moving his hand onto his blaster. He didn’t like things getting dirty, and was really hoping they wouldn’t call his bluff.

“Yeah yeah, okay, just get that drek off my landing pad.” She gestured to his ship as she made her partner do the rest of the transfer. Kaz slowly lowered his blaster more securely into its holster at his waist.

“Always a pleasure, you two,” Kaz said, rolling his eyes.

Moogs jumped back onto Kaz, and the two exited back through the doorway, where ML-26K had been apparently waiting.

“I hate those Benelex mercs,” ML said.

“Really? You hate working for a bounty hunter’s group that’s specialized in kidnapping public targets and that always lead to trouble? Hot take there, ML,” he said, trying to lighten the mood.

“So, did they pay you?” ML asked, ignoring the sarcasm. His tone sounded lighter, however.

“Not without some insistence, but yeah, there’s 20,000 credits we didn’t have before... And, a new job. Probably the last I’ll take from those skeevs.” 

“What’s the job?” ML asked.

“Set a course for Coruscant,” Kaz ordered flatly.

“Right away, sir.”

“What’s the job though, seriously?” ML asked after a brief moment.

TO BE CONTINUED


	2. Back in Black (and Orange)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaz Kestis, with a new contract in hand, must gear up for his journey. He sets out to repair his armor before heading to Coruscant to find the mysterious girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta Read by: encanta  
Huge thanks to encanta for being the coolest thing since sliced bread. Mandalore_Blitz.mp3 4 lyf3

Stars were now starting to adorn the sky at just a little past dusk. The earlier warm glow of the sky was transitioning from yellow to periwinkle, as Kaz, ML-26K, and Moogs sauntered over to the Phantom. If Mandalore was pretty during the daytime, it really was a sight to behold at night; the stars, planets, and moons of distant solar systems reflected off the glass high rises of Mandalore’s main city. Concordia, Mandalore’s moon, cast the planet in a cool bluish hue. The bright and colorful speeders, now subdued in tone, added to the city’s landscape, giving it a sense of personality and a life of its own. 

“Kaz,” ML started, “before we set out for Coruscant, I must insist you get your armor in working order.”

“It’ll be fine, ML. Besides, Moogs here can defend me. Right, Moogs?” Kaz replied, giving Moogs some undeserved but still appreciated attention. She gave him an ever so satisfying purr in return, while cocking her head towards him, as if to say, “ _ This right here is the good stuff _ .”

ML, undeterred by Kaz’s seeming lack of care, insisted.

“Sir, there’s a hole in your torso plate. My ocular components are detecting that your abdomen is visible,” he pointed out in his signature sassy tone.

Kaz looked down to where ML was focused and did indeed notice a small blaster hole about 2 inches up and to the left of his belly button. The tunic under his armor plates was slightly torn, with the crisp black and burnt edges of the hole exposing his very lightly charred flesh beneath it.

“It would be quite unfortunate to find new work if you were to... have an untimely expiration,” ML continued.

Kaz smirked at the way the droid lamented his hypothetical death. It was true to a degree, though. The duo had been in their fair share of shootouts, chases, and otherwise inconvenient hiccups. Kaz, as talented as a mercenary as he was, had various scars from most of these fracases. He was fond of them however, each one holding a story, all of them worthy of the credits earned. If the droid was capable of showing emotion it was, unfortunately for Kaz, always done so ironically. The two of them together made fantastic companions, and it would be to both of their detriments if the other were to perish.

“Alright, alright. ML ... look, it's getting late, but I’ll do this for you big guy. First thing in the morning, I promise,” Kaz said as he punched the droid’s shoulder playfully. As he did so, Moogs ran up his arm and perched on to ML’s freshly battle-wounded shoulder. 

“I’m only looking out for you, sir,” ML said, his tone softened by his new favorite, furry companion. Kaz smiled as he begrudgingly rubbed his now bruised knuckles and thought to himself, “ _ Maybe punch ML a little lighter next time” _ . 

“Yeah, love you too ya hunk of scrap,” Kaz joked. The trio were now at the base of the Phantom Rider. The chrome ship reflected the skyline, rendering it almost invisible against the dark horizon, aside from the brightly painted Strill and flowers along the hull. ML26-K interfaced with the ship and called down the loading ramp. Pistons began moving and steam emitted from vents around the blast doors as they opened. Slowly, the ramp lowered as loud hydraulic sounds filled the night air. The three of them then began up the ramp and Kaz headed into the cockpit. ML called the ramp back up and sealed the blast doors closed once more. Kaz sat in his captain’s chair and started firing up the freshly cleaned and refueled engines. The whirs and purrs of the engine kicked in just as ML and Moogs took their seats at Kaz’s side. ML eased on to the throttle, and the ship slowly but surely lifted off the ground. Like the Rider herself, the merc and the droid functioned together as a well oiled machine. Kaz took the helm and steered the ship in a southern direction from whence they had come. ML sliced into one of the ship’s ports and moved the landing gear up into flight position. The squad then sped towards the city’s outskirts, ready to lay low for the night.

“Can’t believe those Benelex sons of banthas had the audacity to call my baby ‘ _ drek,’ _ ” Kaz muttered quietly, as he patted the ship’s dashboard, as if to apologize on their behalf. “Drek? Can you believe that Moogs?” 

Kaz directed his gaze at the indifferent loth-cat. “I bet they couldn’t pilot a  _ goddamn  _ speeder bike if it was glued to their asses and set on  _ goddamn  _ autopilot...” Kaz continued, genuinely miffed at the fact that someone could actually not like his very personalized ship. 

“Probably just jealous of the  _ very scary monster _ on the side of your ship, Kaz, or perhaps it’s the  _ menacing _ flowers,” ML threw in. Kaz shot ML a dirty look, but cocked a half smile a second later.

“This ship is my heart and soul. You would understand if you were capable of love ML26-K,” he said, biting out the droid’s name robotically, before letting out a small laugh as he realized it was nothing to get worked up over. Moogs appeared apathetic to Kaz’s half tirade/half ironic speech about droid sentience, and so began her own tour of the ship halfway through.

“Looks like our stowaway is getting to know your heart and soul better, Sir,” ML said as Moogs made her way out of the cockpit and into the short hallway just beside it. She looked around for a second before continuing down into the small auxiliary room, where she leapt up to perch atop one of the two tables in there, accidentally activating the dejarik board while doing so. She let out a curious meow and pawed at the holographic monster displayed before her, then looked around again before hopping off the table and walking further through the ship. She passed a big stringed instrument of some sort displayed on a wall panel, surrounded by posters of various female humanoids. Pawing at one of the posters, Moogs accidentally swiped the instrument, causing an out of tune musical note to reverberate throughout the cabin. Kaz immediately took notice and cocked his head from the ship’s main viewport to the direction of the sound.

“ML, take the wheel for a sec.” Kaz sat up and walked over to his loth-cat while ML took over at the ship’s helm. Moogs looked up at Kaz apologetically. “Alright, here’s the deal Moogs: you can stick with us but you gotta respect my space. Why don’t you go find somewhere to sleep for the night?” 

Moogs, seeming to understand him, went further down the way into the barracks at the back of the ship, finding a cozy spot by a warm vent next to Kaz’s bunk. She stretched out, then settled down for the night. Kaz went back to the cockpit, and began landing procedures as they reached the outskirts of town. ML dropped the landing gear and the ragtag squad settled down for the night. Kaz got into his bunk with Moogs at his side, and ML entered his low power mode.

The next morning, the warmth of sunlight shone through the viewport next to Kaz’s bunk, causing a bright glare through his helmet visor and waking him up. He sat up and made his way back up to the cockpit. Hearing Kaz, ML powered up and found that Moogs was napping in his lap. He picked her up and placed her on the floor before also heading to the cockpit. Kaz took the helm, and the crew took to the skies.

“Where are we headed, sir?” ML asked. 

“To an old friend. time to get this armor back in fighting shape,” Kaz replied. “ML, go to the cargo bay and take stock of whatever Beskar steel we have. It ain’t gonna be much, but it’ll have to do. I’ll keep us flying.”

“Right away, sir,” ML said. The droid headed down into the auxiliary room and climbed down a small ladder in the corner. He entered the dark room and began filing through various cargo holds. The first one held various foods and a large water filter, but wasn’t what the droid was looking for. He moved on to the weapons bay; it contained various blasters, tools, staffs, and bounty hunting gadgets. “Aha, here’s some!” ML exclaimed, finding two smooth metal ingots in a box of scraps, each about the size of a deck of cards. He brought them back up to the cockpit just as Kaz was preparing to enter a new city’s limits. 

“Crap, just two? Oh well, it should be enough to repair the damage,” Kaz sighed, as he slid the ingots into his armor’s pockets.

The area here was much grittier than Mandalore’s main city. Low buildings littered the ground with street stalls interspersed between them, and Merchants and buyers were polluting the ground with noise, dirt, and, most importantly, credits. The smell of roasted meat and drink filled the air like a thick smog around the local cantina; Kaz landed in the area just behind it. Moogs hopped on to ML’s shoulders, and the three departed the ship. 

The cantina’s entrance was in sight, surrounded by people going about their business. Animals and beasts were penned up right next to the medium sized establishment. Moogs looked curiously at the other creatures as she clung to ML. Kaz and ML began walking towards the entrance; the armor clad mercenary and tall security droid made an intimidating duo, to say the least. They arrived at the door, when the bouncer placed a hand on Kaz’s shoulder. 

“No animals allowed,” he stated flatly.

“I guess that’s why you’re out here and not in there then,” Kaz taunted and pushed past him, ML and Moogs following suit. The bouncer just sighed and let them through.

“I ain’t paid enough for this,” he lamented.

The trio walked into the cantina, where a holosign shining from the floor greeted them:  _ “Welcome to the Raging Mythosaur!” _ The bar was filled with all types of people: aliens and humans were commingling everywhere, drinks were flowing, a fight was breaking out in the corner between two patrons.In the center of the building, a band was playing lively music.. “ML, why don’t you and Moogs lay low for a bit?” Kaz suggested. The pair settled down at a booth as Kaz walked to the bar, where the bartender stood behind the counter, a glass in one hand and a pitcher in the other.

“Do my eyes deceive me? I know that armor...” she said to Kaz as she poured a glass full of some golden liquid.

“Long time no see, Joon-la. Did you miss me?” Kaz asked.

“Seeing as you’re still alive, yeah I missed you. Won’t happen again though, I’ve gotten a lot better with a blaster in the past three years, Kaz,” Joon replied.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m sorry about the mess last time, but the guy was asking for it. Now pour me a drink please?” Kaz asked in the cutest voice he could muster. Joon grunted, but then handed him the glass that was in her hand. 

“So, what are you doing back in town? Bounties not taking you all over the galaxy?”

“I actually just finished up an assignment here for the guild yesterday. I’m headed to Coruscant soon, apparently there’s a girl.” Kaz smirked.

“Classic. Kaz Kestis is after a girl,  _ how original _ .”

“Very funny. But I actually need your help Joon. The people I’m after are... well equipped to deal with threats. I need to be prepared and seeing as you’re one of the best smiths around, I thought it might be a good idea to pay you a visit.”

“First of all, did you just refer to yourself as a threat? Kaz, that’s honestly hilarious. Second of all, I  _ am _ the best smith around, but Mando armor doesn’t come cheap. Not to mention, Beskar is hard to come by these days, and I need it to forge the plates.”

“Lucky for you, I have some Beskar laying around. And seeing as I just got paid, a healthy handful of credits have your name on it.”

“Well then, step into my office, Kaz.”

Joon-la let herself out of the bar and onto the main floor of the cantina. She led Kaz to a small doorway by the restrooms with Aurebesh letters spelling out “ _ PRIVATE” _ . Joon tapped a small keypad by the door, and the door opened a moment later. The inside of the room was a lot bigger than the outside led Kaz to believe. It was a wide circular room with a forge right in the center. Anvils and smithing tools lined half the room while various uncompleted sets of armor lined the other half of the walls.

“You upgraded here since last time, it’s looking really good,” Kaz noted.

Joon smiled.

“So looks like your leg and torso plates are total losses. I’m gonna have to remake those from scratch. Your helmet is a little dinged, but serviceable. Everything else looks fine. Little plain though, don’t you think? Grey doesn’t really seem like your style.”

“Well, Clan Kestis won’t let me use their color scheme … guess I never got around to painting it,” Kaz said bitterly.

“Sorry, didn’t realize I struck a nerve. Anyway, all this isn’t going to be cheap, like I said.”

“15,000 credits, how’s that sound?” Kaz asked.

Joon nodded, and took the credits from Kaz. He fumbled around in his pockets and fished out the Beskar ingots as well. Joon took them and placed them in the forge’s smelter. The ingots went from solid to liquid and pooled into a bucket, while Joon fiddled around in her tools and fished out two molds. She held one up to Kaz’s torso and the other to his right leg, then threw the leg mold back into the pile of tools and grabbed another. “Yep, that’ll do,” she muttered to herself. The Beskar was now fully heated and up to temperature, and he poured it into the molds. While they cooled, she began work on Kaz’s other plates. Grabbing a plasma cutter, she began doing some touch up work on Kaz while he sat patiently on a stool.

Meanwhile, ML and Moogs were talking to some cantina patrons at their booth. A pale colored Zabrak, characterized by their human looking appearance and small horns atop their head, walked up to the small group and said, “Hey circuit-brains, no animals allowed.” ML looked up at the annoyed Zabrak. “We don’t mean to cause any trouble. I’m just here with a friend of mine. We’ll be leaving shortly, ” he said calmly, knowing full well that causing a scene right now was not in his best interest. 

“Listen, I don’t see any friend of yours here. I’m gonna have t’ask ya t’leave,” the Zabrak said, putting his hand on ML’s shoulder. Moogs hissed at the Zabrak’s advance and lunged at his hand with her claws. The Zabrak gasped in pain, and ML stood up to assist him. “Yo boys, these bantha turds are attacking me!” the Zabrak called out. The group of nearby patrons began marching over to ML’s table and mobbed around him. Just then, the band in the center of the room started playing some more thrash-y type of music. 

“I do not want to harm you, the loth-cat and I are just minding our own business,” ML stated to the gentleman before him.

“Yeah, then why is Al-Di's hand bleeding all over the place?!” one of them called out.

“Moogs appears to have been startled by him, I suppose,” ML mused nonchalantly. Moogs started hissing at the group. “Moogs, settle down.”

Moogs showed no signs of calming down. “Alright, guess we’re gonna have to do this the hard way!”Al-Di growled as he cracked his knuckles. One by one the group went for whatever weapons they could get their hands on. Some went for bottles and glasses, others managed to get silverware from the table - one even got a broken chair leg left on the floor from a previous bar fight. Moogs, nimble as could be, weaved in and out of their strikes, plopping on the heads and shoulders of each fighter, her claws fully unsheathed and leaving marks wherever she landed. ML was now holding back two brawlers with just one of his arms, and punching the fighter holding the chair leg with his free hand. The two fighters, struggling against ML’s strong arm, were tripped up by him and fell, both knocking their heads on a nearby table and passing out. Al-Di took the broken chair leg from the now unconscious body and began wailing on ML, the loud clang of metal on metal reverberating throughout the cantina. Suddenly, it was silenced, replaced by the sound of blaster fire. The band stopped playing their music. Smoke wisps floated gently from the hole in Al-Di’s head. Blood slowly drained from the wound down onto his face, then neck, to ML’s hand where it was wrapped around Al-Di’s throat. The group of patrons now scrambled away, revealing a newly armored Kaz wielding his signature DL-44. The plates on his body were polished and fixed up, good as new. 

“If anybody wants to end up just like him, I suggest you keep attacking my loth-cat. The droid is free game though,” Kaz said cooly, “Though I don’t suggest you fight him either. He’s well equipped to hand your ass to you.”

Moogs meowed and scampered over to Kaz, hopping up first on to his waist, and then springboarding up to his shoulder.

“No takers? All right then,” Kaz said, as he slowly lowered his weapon to his holster, not stashing it away quite yet.

Joon-la ran up behind Kaz, and was bewildered when she saw the carnage before her.

“What happened here? I can’t leave you alone for five minutes! You killed him!” She started soft but was yelling at Kaz by the end.

“Sorry Joon, I’d say won’t happen again but I said that last time... Tell you what, here’s another 5000 credits. Get a new table. I’m really sorry again. The Raging Mythosaur is looking great by the way, real… real great,” Kaz kept saying as he looked at the limp bodies littered around on the floor.

“Sir I believe it is high time we leave,” ML pointed out helpfully.

“Yep, let’s get gone,” Kaz agreed, making for the door

“Kaz, one thing: you and your droid are banned for life. Again,” Joon stated flatly, as she began cleaning up the mess.

“See you soon!” Kaz retorted as he and his crew left the cantina and headed for the ship.

Once onboard, Kaz took off his armor and laid it all on a mannequin. 

“ML, what do you think of a black and orange color scheme for my mando set?” Kaz asked.

“But sir, isn’t that your former clan’s colors? It would be highly offensive to wear it without you being in their guild anymore.”

“I’ll earn my spot back, and I’ll have armor to match,” Kaz decided, without much protest from ML.

He dug out some of his spray paints from when he painted the Phantom Rider’s livery and went to work. He started with his helmet, painting the visor orange, and the rest black. On his chest plates, he painted a grey “V” across it, with the rest of it being orange. He painted his under armor black, and his arm, leg, and shoulder plates orange. With his armor completed, he was ready to take on this Coruscant job.

He adorned his new armor once more, and made way for the cockpit. 

“Looking good, sir,” ML noted, staring after Kaz approvingly. Moogs meowed in satisfaction at her owner's new garb.

Kaz took the helm, and launched the ship into the sky. The landing gear came up as the small city continued to get smaller and smaller. Clouds tore apart as the Phantom Rider climbed higher and higher through them. 

“Let’s have a little fun, ML,” Kaz said to the droid, as he pulled forward on the thrusters. The engines began spewing out a bright yellow flame as the ship flew towards the horizon. The bright blue of the sky was fading and becoming darker. ML engaged the afterburners, and the bright yellow flames transitioned to a dull purple as the ship broke the sound barrier. The small twinkle of stars were now visible as more of the sky faded behind Mandalore’s atmosphere. Kaz never tired of entering space, the vast unknown fully visible to his naked eye. Anywhere and anything was possible out here. He pulled out the Navisystem and began plotting a course for the Inner Rim, where Coruscant lay. Moogs was staring at the stars, content to be flying without having to stowaway. 

“Alright, it's finally time to go to Coruscant,” Kaz said.

ML engaged the hyperdrive after the course was finalized by his captain.

“3,

2,

1,” ML counted down, then pulled up on the hyperdrive controls.

The twinkle of stars dotting the view began to streak in to long vertical lines. Mandalore went from taking up the entire view of the horizon to being a smaller and smaller sphere as it got further away. Everything in sight got brighter and brighter until they were surrounded by the white and blue pulsating light of hyperspace. Kaz began planning for his next job, getting between two criminal families in Coruscant’s underworld. It was no easy task for even the most experienced bounty hunter, but Kaz believed he was ready, especially when there was a load of credits in it for him if he succeeded. 

_ If _ .

TO BE CONTINUED


	3. The Black Sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things don't bode well for our hero in this one.

Kaz was listening to some music and polishing his newly restored armor, his helmet reflecting the pulsating flashes of hyperlight travel. ML was piloting the ship while Moogs was playing with some trash near the onboard compactor. Suddenly the Rider jolted violently side to side, sending the trash flying through the air, as she decelerated out of hyperspace. 

ML called down the ship to Kaz, “Sir, we’re approaching Coruscant now, shall I contact the tower for landing?”

“I was thinking we just float above Coruscant indefinitely, ML,” Kaz called back flatly.

“Your sarcasm is noted, Captain,” ML remarked as he began a transmission down to the ground.

“State your identity and purpose for entering the Coruscant system, we’re not picking up any information about your craft,” a voice stated to ML over the comms. 

“We’re here for work, a contract from Benelex,” ML said in reply.

“And your identity?” the voice asked.

“Kaz Kestis, my droid, and my furball,” Kaz chimed in, having entered the cockpit for landing.

“Identity confirmed. Please hold your position while we prepare the landing docks for your arrival,” the voice said.

“Sounds good,” Kaz replied.

A few minutes passed by as Kaz and ML admired the view of the planet. Half the planet dark grey with an orange grid of lights sprawled on the surface, the other half lit yellow by the rising sun. It was a relatively small planet, covered extensively by industrial buildings and the mega city spread across its surface. The flow of air traffic visible streaming on and off world, surrounding the Phantom Rider on all sides. Three fighter class ships came into view slowly over the horizon of the planet, getting closer and closer to their ship. Kaz leaned into the comms system,

“Any updates, control?” Kaz asked coolly.

“Sorry, hold your position, we’re dealing with an unusual amount of traffic. We’ll update you as soon as we’re able,” a different voice replied.

The three ships were now a few hundred feet away from the ship and still approaching.

“Kaz? I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” ML said, with growing concern.

“Yeah, me too buddy.” 

Suddenly the trash, Moogs, and all the loose articles in the ship flew up into the air with a loud thud as one of the three ships latched on to the ship, then slammed back onto the floor. Red lights strobed across Kaz’s view as the ship’s alert systems kicked into action, and alarms blared loudly, causing Moogs to yelp in fear.

The Rider’s blast doors slowly creaked open as Kaz and ML were frantically scrambling to the blaster stash, when a burst of gas started to slowly fill the room. The blast doors, now open, revealed a crew of 4 armored units with rebreathers attached to their helmets, obscuring their faces. 

“Disable the droid,” A modulated voice said, chillingly calm.

Kaz, blaster in hand, fired on the incoming crew but his vision became hazy and he had trouble breathing. Two blaster bolts fired off from one of the crew, hitting ML squarely in the shoulder, and then a moment later the chest. A loud clank echoed through the ship as ML fell to his knees, then flatly to the floor, as Kaz slowly faded in and out of consciousness along with Moogs who was struggling to stay on her paws. The one calling the commands walked up to Moogs with a large bag.

“Must be the furball he mentioned,” the commander mused in that same chillingly calm voice, as they bagged up Moogs, just as Kaz’s vision went black one final time.

The comms unit crackled on from in the cockpit.

“Hey what the- Hey command! We need a medical droid in here stat! There’s a body on the floor, looks like there’s blo-”

The leader shot the comm system.

“Get the droid, I’ll take care of Kaz and the Loth-cat.” the leader said to two of the crew. “And Jax, take the ship” they said to the third member.

The one called Jax walked over to the cockpit and took the controls as the leader of the squad walked out with Kaz slumped over one shoulder and Moogs in the bag over the other. The two others dragged ML-26K out through the blast doors by his feet. Their ship disengaged from the Phantom Rider and both ships began a descent deep into Coruscant’s underworld.


End file.
